Water park where 11-year-old girl drowned had no deep water warnings, inquest hears

A water park where an 11-year-old girl drowned during a birthday party had no signs warning of deep water, an inquest has heard.

Kyra Hill went missing in a designated swimming area at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire, in August 2022. Although signs warned the water was shallow it was actually metres deep in places, the hearing was told.

Kyra was found more than an hour after emergency services were called and was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead. At the time her father told Sky News she was "left to drown" and accused the operator of "neglect".

Senior coroner Heidi Connor told Berkshire Coroner's Court there were "various sharp drops" of up to 4.5m (14.7ft) within the swimming zone. The lake was 2.68m (8.8ft) deep where Kyra was seen going under, according to the findings of a report carried out after the incident.

But the only signs concerning depth in the designated swimming zone said "danger shallow water". The inquest heard there was a 10-minute gap between the first and second searches for Kyra in that part of the lake.

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The then-schoolgirl was qualified to perform "surface-water rescues" but not underwater ones, and reached the point where Kyra went under in 10 seconds, the inquest heard. She dived repeatedly and left the water to raise the alarm using a radio, the coroner said.

A member of the public kept looking in the area and CCTV shows it took another 10 minutes for staff to re-enter the water, the inquest heard. Abbi first entered the water at 3.20pm and a previous hearing was told emergency services were called at 3.55 and Kyra was found just after 5.10pm.

Owner says more lifeguards should have been on duty Liquid Leisure owner and director Stuart Marston was asked by the coroner about the lack of deep water signs. He said shallow water signs were erected following a civil claim after someone hit the bottom with their knee.

"We were told to put danger shallow water signs around the facility so people didn't jump in," Mr Marston said "It's very difficult, in hindsight now... if there was a deep water sign there and also shallow water [signs], it would be conflicting." The coroner said CCTV showed around 42 people in the water and others on the beach at the time of the incident.

One lifeguard was overseeing the area and the coroner put it to Mr Marston the waterpark's policy required at least one lifeguard per 30 participants. He said lifeguards at nearby activities in the same beach area would occasionally check from their stations, but later accepted more lifeguards should have been on duty.

The coroner said it should not be forgotten "this is about your Kyra, an 11-year-old girl who supported Manchester United and who dreamt of a career in law". The hearing continues..